COUNCIL AND COMMITTEE SUMMARIES
Meeting of the University Senate, November 16, 2015
As submitted to Yenisel Gulatee, Senate Secretary, University Senate
UNIVERSITY SENATE CHAIR’S REPORT -Cynthia Fox
I. Informational
1. Chair Fox attended the fall plenary of the SUNY Senate at Buffalo State
College on October 22 and 23. Campus Governance Leaders (CGLs) attend
these meetings as observers, but are also afforded the opportunity to
participate in a question and answer session with the Chancellor. Noting
that the deadlines for the Performance Investment Plan and SUNY Excels
did not allow for sufficient Governance involvement, the first CGL question
was whether, if in the future funding is to be available through legislative
budget, anything can be done that would move the cycle of requests to
allow for more Campus Governance involvement. A second question
concerned the impact of the SUNY EXCELS metrics and whether the
metrics will be used in aggregate as a metric for the SUNY System to lobby
for additional funding as a system, or specifically for a single campus
creating competition between all campuses. If the latter, i.e., funding only
for a specific campus, what will happen to those campuses who set
aspirational goals and then are unable to meet them? A third question asked
who is reviewing the Performance Investment Plans and what criteria they
are using to review the proposals.
2. The SEC met on November 2. Agenda items included a presentation by
UUP Albany Chapter President Bret Benjamin on the proposal to establish
an Ombudsperson for Academic Renewal, Review, Tenure, and Promotion
Cases; an Update on plans for the College of Engineering and Applied
Sciences (CEAS) by Dean Kim Boyer; discussion of several items from the
SUNY Senator’s report from the Buffalo Plenary; and a presentation of a
draft Policy on Institutional Policy Development by Chief of Staff Leanne
Wirkkula.
3. The next monthly meeting of Chair Fox, Vice Chair Collins and Past Chair
Stefl-Mabry with Provost Stellar and Chief of Staff Wirkkula is scheduled for
Tuesday, November 10.
4. The SEC has received an invitation from Provost Stellar, Vice President
Christakis and Undergraduate Dean/ Vice Provost Jeannette Altarriba to
attend a briefing about the collaboration with the Education Advisory Board
(EAB) on Thursday, November 12.
5. Chair Fox was invited to serve as Co-Chair the Engaged Scholarship
Working Group.
II. Actions taken
1. Following the SUNY Senate model, Council Chairs have agreed to include
in the agenda of their meetings a discussion of questions they would like to
see addressed by the President or Provost at upcoming Senate meetings.
2. The Ombudsperson for Academic Renewal, Review, Tenure, and
Promotion Cases proposal has been sent to CPCA and to GOV for review
and comment.
3. The “Resolution requesting SUNY-wide modification of policies pertaining
to Family Medical Leave (FML), to give paid FML to retain valuable
employees, to be able to stop the tenure clock without change of title or
compensation, including modifying the Board of Trustee policies under
“Title F Other Leaves” passed at the Buffalo Plenary has been sent to ULC
for consideration.
4. The “Resolution urging all campus governance bodies to perform a
comprehensive review of all campus documents to determine that any
statements on academic freedom are consonant with precepts of academic
freedom and consistent with actions arising from the campus-wide
discussions of academic freedom” has been forwarded to CAFFECoR for
consideration.
5. Senate Bill 1516-01 : PROPOSAL TO ESTABLISH A MASTER OF SCIENCE (M.S. )
PROGRAM IN COUNSELING PSYCHOLOGY AND SENATE BILL 1516-02 PROPOSAL TO
ESTABLISH A B.A. ENGLISH / M.A. LIBERAL STUDIES PROGRAM were approved
to be placed on the agenda of the next Senate meeting.
6. Chair Fox reluctantly declined the invitation to serve as Co-Chair the
Engaged Scholarship Working Group and has asked the Governance Council
to identify an individual who could serve as the Senate designee in her
place.
III. Recommendations for actions
N/A
UFS (University Faculty Senator’s Report) - J. Philippe Abraham,
Walter Little & John Schmidt, SUNY Senators
Report from the Fall Plenary University Faculty Senate at Buffalo State
Submitted by John Schmidt, UFS Senator-- jschmidt@albany.edu.
The theme of the Plenary was Diversity. There was a workshop on
Thursday before the actual meeting and an address by Carlos Medina, Vice
Chancellor for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. He noted that although NY is
probably the most diverse state, it is by many measures also the most
segregated. This is background to the challenge for SUNY. Diversity is
about numbers, but inclusion is about the experience of students, faculty
and staff, making all feel welcome. He also noted that while black/latino
females are doing well in graduation rates at SUNY, black/latino males are
not doing so well, presenting a challenge. Another topic raised was that a
Supreme Court decision in 2003 set a 25 year sunset for Affirmative Action
laws, which might mean that they would disappear in 2025. This might
present a problem in keeping minority percentages up, as the recent
changes of this sort in the University of California system resulted in a drop
of minorities to 2% of students.
One topic was the recruitment and retention of a diverse faculty:
Putting resources into posting openings
Restart searches if necessary
Surveying campus climate may be useful
Identify things that work and where they work or don’t work.
How to train better mentors for new faculty hires
How faculty can talk comfortably about diversity issues and get
students to participate.
Diversity of sexual orientation is perhaps the thorniest issue for SUNY
to tackle. Some campuses have considered a questionnaire to be attached to
admission materials, but these would require an opt-out, as many would
prefer not to declare and would feel uncomfortable or unsure or the
confidentiality of the data.
SUNY Advocacy and the Budget Process. The Chancellor reviewed the
history of her attempts to get resources for SUNY. In 2010, she initially
asked for something for SUNY units in every region of NY (Empowerment
and Innovation Act) which failed in the legislature seemingly because it
offered opponents too many targets to attack. Later there was the
successful SUNY 2020, which included rational yearly tuition increases, an
agreement by the state for maintenance of effort (MOE) and some capital
funds. Later the Governor wanted public-private partnerships, so she added
StartUpNY. Then she promoted a campaign of “Access + Completion =
Success”, which with the addition of “Inquiry and Engagement” became
SUNY Excels; and also put forth the goal of increasing the number of
degrees and certificates from 93,000 to 150,000. She noted that last year
she asked for $50M in new innovation funding, and got only a slice of that--
$18M appropriated. The UFS President then pointed out that since the
MOE by the state was interpreted in the current budget as constant dollars,
there was a deficit of about $70M due to increased costs (2% UUP contract
increase, other union increases, and increases of physical plant operating
costs). Thus, the $18M did not begin to cover this hole and SUNY actually
experienced a cut. There was a $300/yr tuition increase (which amounts to
around $70M extra) but fully 25% of this had to go to closing the “TAP gap”
(TAP funds per student are capped at levels below tuition, and SUNY is
committed to making up the difference for TAP students). Thus, more of our
costs were shifted onto the backs of students, whose tuition now covers
approximately 70% of costs to the state’s 30%. Note that this ratio has
reversed in the last decade.
The outlook for the coming budget is mixed. In June, the legislature
passed a bill (with only one vote against) stating that MOE means the state
would cover SUNY’s cost increases, not just furnish constant dollars. This
bill will be sent to the Governor by Dec. 31, but he is widely expected to
veto it. If he does so, the legislature is unlikely to move to override the veto.
The chancellor intends to ask for a comprehensive investment package for
SUNY this coming year (“STAND with SUNY” campaign, amount unstated),
and also to ask for the state to relinquish the setting of tuition levels to the
SUNY Board of Trustees. Since it is a state legislature election year, they
may be hesitant to raise tuition again this year, and the Chancellor feels
that the chance for them to move away from the political burden of having
to vote to raise tuition each year might be attractive to the legislators. The
legislators seem to be more favorably disposed to fund SUNY, since the new
Assembly Speaker is a Stony Brook (and EOP) alumnus, and one western
NY legislator has called for 2016 to be designated the Year of Higher
Education.
Provost’s report on SUNY goals. Provost Alex Cartright listed a
number of goals:
*Diversity is now included in all of the SUNY Excels performance
categories.
*To increase research funding from approximately $900M now to $1.5B by
2025.
* Expand workforce development, especially to serve high needs areas.
*Increase of 50% in Public Service Partnerships.
*Expansion of cultural and artistic scholarship.
*Now searching for two positions: Research Foundation President, Vice
Chancellor of Research and Economic Development.
*Increase the number of degrees and certificates per year SUNYwide from
93,000 to 150,000 by 2025.
He expanded on this last goal. First he compared the percentage of
the US population with post secondary education (44%) to that of the other
countries of the world. The US is 12", well behind the leaders, Korea (66%)
and Japan (58%) and many European countries. So there is room to
improve, and SUNY could help fill the need. Next, he listed things that
SUNY can do to increase the number of degrees and certificates by
perfectly optimizing our processes. If there were no changes, the figures
predict a slight drop in the number, since 23% of students per year get
degrees or certificates.
93,000 now per year
21,000 more from increasing retention
12,000 more from adding new certificates or degrees
11,000 more from increasing enrollments to historical maximums
13,000 more from increasing degrees from online courses and programs.
150,000 new total
Since most online students take one or two courses at a time, the total
number of online students at any one time would have to increase by
80,000. The problem is how to achieve these increases without having
decreased quality, and while giving the students a sense of belonging and
community and a connection to the faculty for student validation (especially
online students).
Several questions arose in response to this presentation. First, would
some of the increases in students in categories actually cannibalize students
from other categories (eg online from traditional students)? How can we do
this without reforming K-12 education, so that students arrive prepared?
(SUNY spends some $70M/year on remedial courses, and students perhaps
$90M in extra tuition). How can SUNY do all this without more resources?
Shouldn’t resources come first? A major driver of students feeling
connected to their classes is small classes, and higher numbers of students
mean larger classes, and higher student-faculty ratios.
Experiential Learning. As you may recall, the budget originally contained
a mandate that all SUNY graduates have a course in experiential learning
(internship, coop, service learning, laboratory work, etc), but after lobbying
by the UFS President the final language was softened to give all students
the opportunity, but let each campus decide what is appropriate for
themselves. Local campuses would examine what courses already exist,
what was feasible, and what they would require in this area. The following
timeline coves these activities.
In Jan 2016, the list of existing courses is assembled and furnished to SUNY
central.
In April 2016, each campus submits a plan for experiential learning.
By April 2017, each campus reports on feasibility and decides whether it
will require experiential learning. Feasibility includes the impact on the
Campus (faculty and students as well as resources and support staff
necessary to carry out the requirement). Feasibility also includes the impact
on the community—whether there are enough private sector companies and
public organizations to furnish the positions, and whether there might be an
impact in terms of displacing workers in the economy. These plans require
consultation with Campus Governance, so I would ask that the SEC assign
this task to UAC or an associated ad hoc committee to report on.
The UFS also had a report on Service Learning as one type of experiential
learning. It involves giving course credit for volunteer work at different
places in the community. For example, premeds often get SSW credit for
their volunteer work at hospitals. More than 2/3 of SUNY campuses offer
such service-learning opportunities already. The report offered sour
recommendations:
1) Individual campuses should take time to define service-learning for
their campus and set criteria under which courses can be designed to
include service-learning.
2) Disseminate information effectively on campus. The report yields a
number of ways that faculty and students learn about this
opportunity.
3) Assess the outcomes of service-learning, including have students
write essays reflecting on the value of their service learning.
4) Provide incentives for service learning to increase the number of
participating faculty and students (e.g. through tenure and promotion
criteria, small grants and recognition awards.
A lengthy report on how these recommendations can be implemented
is available.
Faculty Consultation and Shared Governance. The process of
consultation with campus governance on input for such programs as SUNY
EXCELs and the Performance Investment Fund has not always been
followed in practice. The chancellor was asked “What will you do ensure
that the campus presidents actively consult with faculty governance on
these matters, which will define the future trajectories of our campuses and
of SUNY?” Chancellor Zimpher stated that we have to get this right. She
has repeatedly told the Presidents to include governance in these decisions.
What more can she do? She asked us what she can do to encourage campus
presidents to comply. It was suggested to her that SUNY forms be modified
to require a sign off by the CGL prior to submission, or perhaps that they
must be accompanied by a letter from the CGL outlining what the
consultation process entailed.
SUNY Med Centers and Hospitals. The nightmare over LICH is now over
with the sale of LICH. Henry Flax, the Medical Center representative asked
the Chancellor what were the plans for the teaching hospitals and for their
administration. The chancellor responded that SUNY’s number one
commitment is to retain the essential clinical positions for the medical
school. It had not yet been decided whether this would always take the form
of SUNY operating teaching hospitals (situation at Stony Brook, Upstate
and Downstate) or contracting with separate area hospitals for clinical
positions (situation at UBuffalo). The problem of SUNY oversight of
hospitals is likewise still undecided. The lack of expertise in this area on the
SUNY Board of Trustees was a part of the problem with the LICH debacle.
The following resolutions were passed by the UFS:
*Resolution requesting SUNYwide modification of policies pertaining to
Family Medical Leave (FML), to give paid FML to retain valuable
employees, to be able to stop the tenure clock without change of title or
compensation, including modifying the Board of Trustee policies under
“Title F Other Leaves”.
*Resolution urging all campus governance bodies to perform a
comprehensive review of all campus documents to determine that any
statements on academic freedom are consonant with precepts of academic
freedom and consistent with actions arising from the campus-wide
discussions of academic freedom.
*Resolution that the Board of Trustees change its policies so that the Vice-
Pres/Sec of UFS will upon election no longer represent his/her own campus,
but serve solely in this SUNY-wide position, since there are now many more
duties associated with the position (similar to language now covering the
President of UFS).
Announcements of Meetings and Events:
Chancellor’s Draft report on Social Media Responsibility—comments are
due by 28 Oct, to be sent to Rosalind Rufer.
Service Learning course guidelines are available from UFS senators
Nov. 13 & 14 at Syracuse—a conference on Fostering Collaboration
between Academic Affairs and Student Affairs Professionals. Information
available at https://fs9.formsite.com/zetadon
Feb 24, 2016 Undergrad Research Poster session at the Legislative Office
Building in Albany to showcase UG Research at SUNY for legislators.
April 24, 2016 at Cobleskill—SUNY Undergraduate Research Conference
featuring a wide scope of research and scholarship.
GSA (Graduate Student Association) - Robert Beach, GSA President
Message Congress Days October 14th, Upcoming Call Congress Days
in November.
We held the annual message congress days about student debt on October
14th and our new guerilla listserv worked well in this regard. We are now
planning our call congress days where we assemble graduate students to
make calls to congressional representatives about student debt issues.
Orientation w/ University Involvement
During our orientations, one of the big discussion points was the lack of
information sharing on the part of the University to its graduate students.
The GSA has done Fall and Spring orientation programs and provides
printing services for our students for years. But due to our tight and
shrinking budget, we ffeel like they would be even more effective if backed
by the University. I’ve had discussions with several administrators,
scratching the surface of these issues and would like to continue to learn
how the University can better provide for our graduate students.
5-Year Strategic Plan meeting
The GSA is embarking on a huge overhaul of its internal mechanisms. We
find ourselves lacking important institutional structures that would make us
a viable organization long after its current members have moved on. I have
ambitious plans to create a comprehensive Policy and Procedures manual
for our association and we have started the process of long-term strategic
planning after our Assembly created a five-year master plan committee.
Campus Center Expansion - GSA seeking new office space
One of those long-term goals is securing new office space as part of the
campus center expansion project. I ask that members of the senate and
present administrators come visit our offices some time. Sometimes it is
rather quiet, but on peak time, the office is literally overflowing with people
using our printing services, asking questions of our E-Board and office staff,
and trying to conduct GSA meetings in space technically reserved as a
graduate student lounge. This is not a sustainable model. It is also very hard
to find us, in part this is because we are secreted away on the top floor of
the Campus Center in a side-hallway. But more crucially, and despite
frequent requests to correct this, the signage for the GSA offices reflects
our office space from over 18 months ago.
We are looking for more space, and something more accessible to our
students when the Campus Center finally determines its office assignments
in the next year or two. We are calling on members of the Senate and
faculty, Administration, and other campus departments, to support the
GSA’s proposal for prime office space in the new Campus Center
arrangement.
NAGPS National Conference
Four GSA representatives have returned from the NAGPS national
conference in Los Angeles and at the time of submitting my written report
are still working on theirs. I will update the Senate on these important
proceedings by the time of the Senate meeting.
Board of Trustees Testimony
I recently made public testimony at the SUNY Board of Trustees hearing on
the implications of the new 20-hour rule for student assistants. I was told
that this was an HR decision from the State, but that we might have some
recourse to change the policy by going through the labor board. One of the
board members questioned the logic of cutting hours to avoid insuring
student assistants but still requiring that all enrolled students carry
insurance coverage. The contradiction is something that we will be studying
and coming up with our next steps.
We know that the University relies on student assistants to get important
work done at the University at Albany. We ask for your support in our
efforts to change it. We believe that rather than cutting costs, or protecting
students, the new rule will pull more students out of SA positions and into
non-campus jobs which will have an impact on their own academic
achievement, but also the pool of labor on campus. The least we can due as
an institution is offer reasonable compensation to all of the students who
provide their labor to the University. If we claim to be concerned about the
quality of life for our students, we should really put our money where our
mouths are.
SUNY SA in November
Three GSA representatives are preparing to leave for the SUNY SA Fall
conference in Rochester. We will return the day before the Senate meeting.
I will try to have an overview in time for the meeting and a more
comprehensive report for December.
SA (Student Association) - Jarius Jemmott, Student Association
President
¢ SA is committed to join EOP in the fight to revive the Perkins Loan
Program.
e¢ SA will be fundraising alongside UPD for Toys for Tots.
e Website is under construction, but will be available before the end of
the semester.
¢ We have started weekly "SA Fireside Chats" where we discuss weekly
news for students. We are also in the process of releasing our first
newsletter.
¢ SA Town Hall - Sunday, November 15th at 5pm in LC 18. Student
groups will meet SA employees and learn how to use us as resources.
e President's Council Opening - Thursday, November 19th from 5pm -
7pm in the University Art Museum. This is an opportunity for all
student presidents to network and learn more about what the council
can offer.
CAA (Council on Academic Assessment) - James Mower, Chair
Nothing to report
CAFFECoR (Committee on Academic Freedom, Freedom of
Expression, and Community Responsibility) -Carol Jewell, Chair
Nothing to report
CERS (Committee on Ethics in Research and Scholarship) - Michael
Jerison, Chair
CERS has no cases of ethics violation to consider.
COR (Council on Research) - Daniele Fabris, Chair
Nothing to report
CPCA (Council on Promotions and Continuing Appointments) - Lynn
Warner, Chair
On Oct 26, CPCA reviewed 2 cases (1 promotion and 1 continuing
appointment and promotion).
On Nov 10, CPCA will review 1 promotion case.
GAC (Graduate Academic Council) - Ronald Toseland, Chair
At our meeting on 10/19/2015 we voted on two proposals from Counseling
Psychology; one to amend the PhD program, and the other to establish a
new MS program in Counseling Psychology. Both proposals were approved
unanimously by GAC.
We also voted and approved unanimously a report from the Committee on
Admissions & Academic Standing on a student grievance.
The GAC also appointed chairs for the Committee on Curriculum and
Instruction, and the Committee on Education Policy and Procedure. There
are now chairs for all three standing committees of the Council.
GOV (Governance Council) - James Collins, Chair
Old business
In the past 2 % months, the Governance Council has met twice. It has
established membership for the two primary committees, which have met,
selected chairs, and begun to organize for their major responsibilities for
the year. These are:
¢ Committee on Assessment of Governance and Consultation:
Conducting a biennial survey of Senate constituencies on the
functioning and performance of the Senate
¢ Committee on Liaison & Election: Conducting the annual election of
Senators and facilitating communication between the Senate and its
constituencies in a range of formats
In the past two meetings, the Council has circled around proposed Charter
Amendments for the CAA and UAC, sought more information, and will
address them on 11/9 as part of ‘old business’. The Council has resolved
questions about the obligation to post Senate information on the Senate
website. It has reviewed and approved lists of nominees to two university
bodies, the Honors College Governing Board and the Selection Committee
for the Chancellors Excellence Award in Adjunct Teaching.
Most significantly, the Council has engaged in close study of the history of
Administrative Review and Evaluation in the SUNY System and at UAlbany
and will discuss concrete actions to take at its meeting on 11/9/15. Here are
two relevant dates and governance actions:
¢ In 2005, the Governance Committee of the SUNY University Faculty
Senate issued a report Faculty Evaluation of Administrators, which
outlined the grounds for such evaluation in Chancellor’s Reports, in
Middle States Periodic Reviews, in the existing practices at individual
campuses (i.e., Binghamton, Stony Brook, New Paltz, and Fredonia).
e In 2011-12, the Governance Council of the University Senate at
Albany undertook several actions and inquiries, including:
oO Establishing a Committee on Administrative Evaluations
O Drafting a proposed Charter Amendment to Create a Council on
Administrative Review and Evaluation in 2012
oO After threat of a veto of such Amendments by then-President
George Philips, Council members engaged in further discussions
with the Office of Institutional Research, and compiled a record
of those discussions, in preparation for a later phase of
negotiation.
This forms the background context to the current phase of Governance
study and discussion, including that by Senate leadership this summer, in
light of language in the 2015 Middle States Periodic Review of the
University, calling for efforts to involve faculty governance more directly in
review of Administration.
1 offer this brief account of prior SUNY and UA University Senate actions to
encourage discussion of this issue before Governance brings a formal
amendment on Administrative review to the Senate.
New business:
At its meeting on 11/9, the Council will consider a proposal from UUP fora
University Ombudsperson. Considering this position will involve discussions
between Governance, CPCA, and the University, as well as between the
Senate, UUP, and the Administration
LISC (Council on Libraries, Information Systems, and Computing) -
David Mamorella, Chair
Rebecca L. Mugridge
University Libraries
Dean and Director’s Report to LISC
October 26, 2015
Acquisitions budget. The Libraries had requested additional funding to
our base to cover the increased cost of our electronic journal and database
subscriptions. We will be given some additional funds to cover part of the
inflation cost and continue the discussion with the Provost. Additional
concerns are new degree programs and disciplines that will require new
resources to support them.
Status of vacant positions. The Libraries are in the process of filling two
professional positions in Access Services: a Lending and Access Services
Associate and a Resource Sharing and Reserves Associate. There are also
two librarian and several clerical positions that we are looking to hire in the
near future.
Group study rooms. We held an event on October 9 to promote the nine
new group study rooms and the Mac lab on the first floor. ITS supported the
event by providing the refreshments. We had a number of visitors, primarily
library staff and students who were studying in the vicinity.
Open Access Program. The Libraries celebrated Open Access Week with a
program on October 20, with 36 in attendance. Presentations included
“Academia and Open Education” by UAlbany Professor P.D. Magnus, and
“Open Sesame: Negotiating Access to Your Research and Publications.”
Lindsay Van Berkom, Scholars Archive Administrator, gave a demonstration
for the University’s institutional repository, Scholars Archive, available at:
http://scholarsarchive.library.albany.edu/
Student Advisory Board (SAB). The first SAB meeting was held October
19, with 20 in attendance. A second meeting is scheduled for mid-
November. They reported being very happy with the additional outlets
installed over that past year (600), but were still disappointed with the
wireless service. In spite of additional wireless hubs, they found that the
service was spotty and that they got dropped frequently. They also do not
like the consolidated printing area and find the lines are too long at the
quick print stations. We will investigate these issues more thoroughly in
future SAB meetings.
SUNY Council of Library Directors (SCLD). I attended the SCLD Fall
meeting in Fairport, NY, October 14-16. The hot topic at the meeting was
the need to migrate to another integrated library system. The SUNY Office
of Library and Information Services (OLIS) put out a Request for
Information in the spring and received information from six firms: Ex Libris,
Innovative Interfaces Inc., SirsiDynix, OCLC, ProQuest, and EBSCO. (Since
that time, ProQuest has purchased Ex Libris, further consolidating the
field.) OLIS will put together another group to gather information with the
goal of putting out an RFP no later than June 30, 2016.
UAC (Undergraduate Academic Council) -Karen Kiorpes and Christy
Smith, Co-Chairs
The UAC held its third meeting of the year on October 27.
i, College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security and
Cybersecurity (CEHC)
a. Interim Dean David Rousseau and Assistant to the Dean
Elizabeth Gray of The College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland
Security and Cybersecurity (CEHC) addressed UAC. While the
proposal for the CEHC major has not been finalized or circulated to
UAC for review, based on timing concerns, they were invited to
present an overview of the noncredit training component of the
proposal and how it fits into the general structure of the major. This
component will be somewhat novel to the UAlbany community as it
consists of a requirement that students accumulate 100 hours of
experiential learning to prepare students for field work and
employment. Examples include FEMA or Red Cross training. Lists of
acceptable training experiences are being complied. Some are free,
others involve fees, but students will have choice.
b. CEHC recently proposed a new simulation course, “Simulation:
Building Security and Preparedness.” This “marquee” course,
designed to stimulate interest in the major for undergraduates, will
initially be offered during winter session and will give students the
opportunity to earn 3 credits as well as accumulate some training
hours. This four week course will not be required for the major.
Committee members asked questions about logistics and funding for
the program since it involves out of town travel. Since an updated
syllabus was not provided until a few hours before the meeting and
most committee members did not have the opportunity to read the
proposal, UAC will formally consider the proposal at a subsequent
meeting.
2. General Education Competencies Plans
UAC reviewed the Competencies Plan resubmitted by the Department
of Economics. The revisions addressed ensuring that all students in
the B.A. program would cover courses designated to meet advanced
competencies. Requirements for the degree will change to include one
course specifically designated with a competencies suffix. The revision
also include syllabi changes regarding information literacy and
advanced writing. The plan was approved.
3. The General Education Committee met on October 16" to
review two proposals for the course RPAD/CEHC101 Introduction to
Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity.
Both proposals were approved to satisfy the Social Sciences and
Challenges for the 21“ Century general education categories.
4. The next meeting will be held on 11/13/2015. Revised
competency plans for the Geography and Planning BA program will be
reviewed.
ULC (University Life Council) - Michael Jaromin, Chair
Last meeting on October 13".
Tobacco Free SUNY - Our council continues to discuss the status of the
campuses’ efforts per the 2009 ULC Resolution adopted by the Senate
regarding becoming a Tobacco Free Campus. It was noted that in the
Tobacco-Free 2015 New York State’s Dean’s List report we received a “D”
grade.
Dialogue in Action series - A kick-off session for the DIA Series will be
held on October 28, 2015 from 9:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. in the Ballroom of the
Campus Center
"The Office of the Provost, in partnership with the President’s Council on
Diversity and Inclusion and the University Life Council of the Senate will
once again be hosting the “Dialogue in Action” series throughout the 2015-
2016 academic year. These dialogues are designed to heighten awareness
and foster an environment that broadens perspectives and explore ways
that individuals from diverse backgrounds and societal contexts, can
effectively communicate.
The “DIA” Series is intended to assist tenured and tenure track faculty with
identifying and sharing strategies for achieving greater inclusion in the
classroom. We will take a two pronged approach. First, several task forces
will be convened to gather “Best Practices” and make recommendations for
addressing issues identified by last year’s working groups. Secondly, we
will continue the DIA small group discussions. Recognizing your
enthusiasm for and interest in UAlbany’s commitment to Inclusive
Excellence we would like to extend to you a personal invitation to join the
small group discussions. This year, the DIA small group discussions will
adopt a more reflexive approach. Specifically, we will focus on how
instructor and student identities shape the classroom environment, and
work with DIA participants to devise ways to engage in genuine dialogues
around diversity. We are happy to report that Professors Karyn Loscocco
and Walter Little have agreed to continue as facilitators ensuring that we
can effectively and efficiently build on the foundation established by past
year’s DIA Series. Professors Rabi Musah, Department of Chemistry and
Alex Pieterse, School of Education will join Walter and Karyn as facilitators.
Not only do we support participation in the DIA program as a part of
university-wide service, but it also contributes to creating an environment
that will allow us to progress toward Inclusive Excellence.
We hope you will join us as we work with DIA faculty participants to
identify and share strategies for making our classrooms more inclusive. If
you would like to participate in the 2015-2016 DIA Series, please click on
this link to register.
A kick-off session for the DIA Series will be held on October 28, 2015 from
9:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. in the Ballroom of the Campus Center, where
breakfast will be provided. At that time, we will share the meeting schedule
for the dialogue sessions as well as introduce you to the facilitators. Please
email DIAEvents@albany.edu to RSVP for the kick-off by Wednesday,
October 14, 2015."
UPPC (University Planning and Policy Council) - Joette Stefl-Mabry,
Chair
I. Informational
UPPC met on October 21st.
Kim Bessette, Associate Vice President of Financial Management and
Budget, provided a presentation on the Compact Process for the
2016-17 FY Budget
UPPC’s next meeting will be on November 21
II. Reports of Actions
UPPC voted to approve a proposal to establish a BA English/MA
Liberal Studies
UPPC amended the conditional approval of the School of Education’s
embedded MS program within its PHD program in Counseling
Psychology to “approved” after receiving the following items as
requested at the September 24", 2015 UPPC meeting:
A letter of support for the proposal from the Dean of CAS and/or the
Dean of the SOE.
Indication of whether there will or will not be a fiscal impact of the
proposal on the proposed service agency, along with letters of support
from ITS, University Libraries and others as appropriate.
An explanation of what the capstone scientist practitioner project
would entail.
Documentation that faculty within the department had been consulted
and have provided support for the creation of the new program
UPPC is working on clarifying the Campus Impact Statement form.
III. Recommended Actions
N/A
